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Chapter Text

The day in Castle Van Ghoul progressed with a familiar scene—Shaggy and Daphne learning magical theory with Vincent in his study as Flim-Flam, Scooby, and Scrappy played a game, inevitably listening in on the lesson. Although, today’s lesson wasn’t all that interesting, at least not to Daphne—

“Remind me again,” Daphne sighed, looking up from the book she was reading. “Why are we memorizing the Latin names of all these plants?”

“Because the common names vary by era and by language—and mixing them up can have disastrous results,” Vincent replied, calmly. “For example—putting Sphagnum moss instead of Fontinalis moss will turn your fire-resistance elixir into embalming fluid.”

“…Yeah, like, let’s avoid that,” Shaggy said, his eyes wide.

“…Okay, I concur,” Daphne agreed, also stunned.

“Your tone of voice says that you’ve seen it before, Vince,” Flim-Flam observed, wanting to know this story.

“Yes,” Vincent mused. “During my schooldays; it happened to one of the intermediate students—on a dare, someone told him to improvise some substitutions for an elixir. He would’ve been in a coma for six months, perhaps, if Associate Dean Leonidas hadn’t swooped in with an antidote and a strong healing spell. Nevertheless, it was an effective lesson for all of us present.”

“Rhi’ll bet!” Scooby exclaimed.

“I’ll second that!” Scrappy agreed, also wide-eyed now. “And I’m not even at the studying part yet!”

“It’s never too early to…” Vincent trailed off as his crystal ball rang. “…Hold that thought, won’t you?” He picked up the crystal. “Yes? …Ah, Helena!”

“How are you, Vincent?” the image of Miss Helena Grimwood asked, appearing in the crystal ball. “And your kids, of course?”

Vincent took note of her harried expression, quickly deducing that this wasn’t a social call.

“We’re all quite fine, Helena, but do put aside the pleasantries—something is troubling you. What’s happened?”

She dropped the mask almost immediately.

“…One of my students is missing,” she admitted, worry filling her voice.

The kids were all paying attention now; they’d met Miss Grimwood at Vincent’s school reunion over a year ago, and even though she had been in the Advanced Class two years younger than his, she’d more or less been a part of Vincent’s gang back then. She’d taken a liking to them almost instantly, and had even requested Shaggy to consider coaching her students for a gym class. Shaggy hadn’t committed to anything, but he’d been flattered at the offer.

And Vincent sighed in concern, giving a nod of understanding.

“It’s little Winifred—Winnie, we call her,” Miss Grimwood continued. “And her disappearance is very clearly part of something bigger—something that has Count Dracula himself concerned, on account of the fact that he has very personal interests in all of this; his daughter is another one of my students, you see, and in addition to that—”

“Forgive my interruption, Helena, but if Dracula is involved in this, wouldn’t Voudini be the better one to handle this?” Vincent asked, as Shaggy and Daphne exchanged wide-eyed glances. “The Count holds Voudini and yourself in much higher esteem than he would me; he knows very well that I owe my life to the Belmont Clan—his mortal enemies—and more than once.”

“That’s why I need you, Vincent; Julius Belmont is involved in this, too—and so are the Harkers,” she said. “That’s how big this is. We’re here in Romania now, on the edge of the border between Wallachia and Transylvania; Voudini is already here, and so is Associate Dean Leonidas’s son—in his stead, of course. And, more than that, you are the one I trust most of all with regards to finding Winnie.” She gave a wan smile. “Your paternal instincts have been becoming just as well-known as your powers, lately. But, of course, I knew that about you even during our schooldays—you were the elder brother I never had.”

Vincent suppressed a smile.

“You don’t have to flatter me, Helena—I’ll be there momentarily.”

“Thank you, Vincent—truly, thank you,” Miss Grimwood replied, sincerely. She already seemed relieved.

Vincent nodded and ended the call; he exhaled for a moment before looking back at the kids.

“Well, you heard. Shaggy, Daphne, I’m afraid I’ll be cutting this lesson short while I take care of this,” he said.

Daphne bit her lip, and Shaggy cleared his throat.

“Um, you know, Daphne and I can probably continue our reading while you take care of it,” he said.

“Yeah, and we can all hold the fort here,” Scrappy added.

“Rheah!” Scooby agreed.

“Wait, what…?” Flim-Flam asked, staring at Scrappy. Scooby and Shaggy offering to bow out was something he was used to—but Scrappy?

Vincent was clearly thinking along the same lines, glancing at Scrappy in confusion, and then glancing over at Daphne, who hadn’t countered anything that the others had said. His confusion then turned to concern.

“Well…!” the warlock said, glancing around the study. “I’m certainly capable of handling this with my fellow mages, but this is a rather surprising turn of events—especially since I know you all got along rather well with Julius Belmont when you sought his aid to rescue me from the High Inquisitor’s ghost.”

“It’s got nothing to do with Julius,” Daphne said. “It’s about Dracula being involved in this.”

“The Count? …Ah, I see; this is about that incident you mentioned when Chandra was involved with him?” Vincent realized.

“Like, that’s pretty much it,” Shaggy gulped. “Not only is the Moonstone Medallion gone again, we didn’t exactly leave on good terms with Dracula.”

“Rheah, rafter all we did to rhelp him, he and all the other rhmonsters turned on us!” Scooby complained.

“Yeah, we all booked it—even me,” Scrappy sighed.

Vincent’s eyes narrowed as Flim-Flam nodded, understanding now.

“Is that so!?” the warlock demanded.

Daphne, Shaggy, Scooby, and Scrappy all nodded, and Vincent’s expression softened slightly.

“Well, I won’t force you to go,” he promised. “But just remember that I am here this time—and I vow that I will not let Dracula lay so much as a cold finger on any of you. And I will make that clear to him in no uncertain terms—while doing my best not to set Voudini’s diplomatic efforts back.”

“…What are you going to tell him?” Daphne asked, wide-eyed again.

“That will be between the count and myself,” Vincent replied, though his voice had taken on a noticeable edge to it.

“Zoinks…” Shaggy mused. He had to admit, after Dracula had terrorized him and the rest of the gang by his sudden betrayal, seeing Vincent strike some fear into the vampire would be satisfying, but at the same time…

“Vincent…” Daphne sighed, putting the rest of Shaggy’s thoughts into words. “You know we’re grateful for your looking out for us but, please… don’t start anything with Dracula, huh?”

“Trust me—that’s the last thing I would want,” Vincent assured her. “We need to be very careful and diplomatic when vampires are involved.”

“Why do you need to be diplomatic with vampires anyway!?” Scrappy asked. “Why can’t you just splat ‘em!?”

“The entire reason why the count and his ilk have been quiet since his most recent resurrection is because of the efforts of Voudini’s diplomacy,” Vincent said. “As with the fae, we mages would want to avoid a war with the undead, most of whom are commanded by Dracula; the collateral damage would be disastrous if there was a war—and that collateral damage would include mortals. It would also include several of the undead, so Dracula would want to avoid that, as well.”

“So he would know better than to try anything with us again because you wouldn’t let that pass,” Daphne realized. “Okay, then, I’ll go with you.”

“Are you sure?” Vincent asked.

“Well, I am your heiress—and your favorite daughter-by-choice,” she pointed out, with a smile.

“Hey!” Shaggy exclaimed. “If she gets to get out of studying these plant names, so do I! I’m going, too!”

“Rhaggy!” Scooby yelped in disbelief.

“Uh…” Shaggy trailed off, only then realizing what he’d just volunteered for. “…Oh boy. Well, I’ve put my foot in it now, huh?”

“Rhou sure did!” Scooby chided.

“Well, you’re not leaving me behind!” Scrappy said. “We’ve definitely got better odds with Vincent!”

“And he’s got better odds with us,” Flim-Flam added. “So, I’m in.”

“Rhat’s true,” Scooby sighed. “Rhokay, Rhi’ll go too.”

“Very well—but stay close to me at all times, all of you,” Vincent instructed. “The Count may be making an effort at a more peaceful existence, but the presence of so many mortals will still be tempting for him, no doubt. But with luck, we’ll spend as little time near the Count as possible—I imagine Helena will want us to also spend time looking for her missing student, Winifred.”

“Do you think Winnie’s disappearance has anything to do with someone trying to stir up Dracula’s ire?” Daphne asked. “I mean, what if someone wants diplomacy to break down and devolve into something worse? If Julius is involved, it’s already started.”

“…The possibility did cross my mind,” Vincent admitted. “And I hope that isn’t the case—for all of our sakes. Now, then, let’s be off—Helena is waiting for us.”

Shaggy and Scooby gulped, but steeled themselves as they all teleported.

Chapter Text

The first thing they were aware of upon arrival was the arguing. The second thing they were aware of was the school in the background—and the familiar figures occupying the foreground.

“Zoinks!” Shaggy yelped. “It’s not just Dracula! Look!”

“Rho no!” Scooby howled. “All the rhmonsters!”

“Jeepers…!” Daphne gasped.

Indeed, nearly all of the monsters they had seen at Dracula’s Halloween party were there—the vampire himself, a reanimated mummy, a ghostly phantom, and the towering, man-made monster. With them, trying to calm them down, was Miss Grimwood, accompanied by a small dragon and a bunch younger monsters of the same types as the older ones, also trying to calm them down. Voudini, Vincent’s longtime friend, and Leonidas II, son of their alma mater’s associate dean, were also doing their best. A meek, scrawny man with sunken eyes was at Dracula’s side, trying to placate the vampire, as well.

Across from them, staring down the monsters and arguing back, was Julius Belmont; he was accompanied by a young lady, clearly supporting him, and an older man, trying to calm the both of them down, as well.

“And I assure you, I have nothing to do with this!” Julius was saying. “Neither the disappearance of the werewolf, nor his daughter!”

“That’s right!” the young lady huffed. She had short, red hair and was wearing a headband.

“And why should I believe the both of you, descendants of my mortal enemies? You, a Belmont!” Dracula looked to the girl. “And you, a Harker!”

“Hey, you were the one who tormented my great-grandparents and their friends!” she shot back. “If you’d just left them alone—”

“That isn’t the point, Googie,” Julius interrupted her. “The Count needs to understand that we did not do anything to those werewolves!”

“Please, stay calm,” the man with them pleaded. He then turned to Dracula. “Father, I can assure you that they would not needlessly attack the missing werewolves—they never moved to attack you, in spite of their families’ heritages.”

“Dracula has two kids!?” Scrappy blurted out.

That caused everyone to look at him, causing the puppy to cringe at his ill-timed exclamation.

“You?” Dracula asked, and his gaze turned to Shaggy, Daphne, and Scooby. “And you!? And you’re with…” He trailed off as he glanced at Vincent, his pale countenance going even paler. “…The Great Mage…?”

“Vlad,” Vincent said, acknowledging Dracula with a nod. His gaze turned to the other monsters, who also backed away slightly, clearly awed and alarmed. His gaze then turned to Julius, who nodded to him in greeting, too; Dracula’s son did, as well, while the girl Julius had called Googie was staring in slack-jawed awe.

Slightly emboldened, the kids and the dogs now stood closer to Vincent, staring back at the very same monsters who, during their last encounter, had caused them to turn tail and flee in a panic.

“Vincent!” Voudini exclaimed. “Thank the Goddess you’re here!”

“Great timing,” Leonidas II added, his wolf familiar, Talbot, looking relieved to see him, as well.

“I invited him here,” Miss Grimwood revealed.

“You—!?” Dracula asked. “Why would you invite him!?”

“To placate me, I assume,” Julius sighed.

“Partly,” Miss Grimwood agreed. “But, more than that, if there is anyone who can help us find out what happened to the missing werewolves—and keep the rest of the girls safe—it is Vincent.”

“The girls!?” Shaggy repeated. “Wait, you mean…?” He pointed at the younger monsters. “Zoinks! You mean those are the students you wanted me to coach!?”

“Not now, Shaggy,” Vincent instructed. He addressed the monsters, the mages, and the monster hunters as one group. “Explain the situation to me—objectively.”

“In other words, just give us the facts!” Flim-Flam quipped; Vincent gave him a look, prompting him to chuckle in embarrassment. “Heh… I guess you got this, huh, Vince?”

“I think I’ve pieced together what’s happened just from what we’ve heard,” Daphne said, going into detective mode. “I see that the Wolfman we met at the Halloween party isn’t here, and his daughter seems to be Miss Grimwood’s missing student. Dracula and the other monsters are concerned and worried over their disappearances—probably because they and their daughters might be next. And they’re assuming that the blame falls on the resident monster hunters—Mr. Belmont and Miss… Harker?”

“Yeah—Lucille Harker, but I prefer being called Googie,” she said. “You must be Daphne Blake; Mr. Belmont was so inspired by how you seemed to have picked up magic from Mr. Van Ghoul that he decided to take me on as his apprentice, since monster hunting runs in my family, too.”

“Yes, and Daphne’s skills have grown as my official heiress under my tutelage,” Vincent boasted. “Shaggy’s as well. But for the sake of the missing werewolves, I must insist upon an end to this argument, if Daphne’s picture of everything is correct.”

“It is,” Voudini nodded. “Though there is a bit more to the story leading up to the current situation.”

“Werewolves have been going missing in the area for quite some time before this incident,” Dracula’s son added. “Dracula may be by father, but I’ve had a good relationship with the Belmont Clan—I’ve been known to them as Alucard. I was the one who asked Julius and his apprentice to look into the disappearances—and I would have explained that if Father had given me the chance. But their arrival coincided with Winifred and her father’s disappearances, and Father jumped to conclusions.”

Dracula scowled, but looked a bit embarrassed.

“See, Daddy?” the youngest vampire asked, tugging on the Count’s sleeve. “I told you Winnie was acting strange for days—even before Mr. Belmont got here!”

“Why don’t you tell Mr. Van Ghoul what happened, Sibella?” Miss Grimwood asked her, kindly.

“Well…” Sibella sighed. She glanced to the other young monsters, who gave her all an encouraging nod. “The five of us are Miss Grimwood’s students—myself and Winnie, and those three are Elsa, Phanty, and Tanis.”

“Tanis?” Vincent repeated, clearly thrown off by that. He glanced at the little mummy, and then at her father. “…And you are Kharis?”

The elder mummy nodded, surprised and confused, prompting Vincent to sigh in amazement.

“Rhat is it?” Scooby asked.

“It’s not important now—given our priorities, it should wait,” Vincent assured him. He turned back to Sibella. “My apologies—please continue.”

“Well, with there being only five of us, we’re pretty close-knit; it’s quite fang-tastic to have a bunch of close friends like that, and it helps that all of our fathers know each other, too,” she went on. “And since we’re so close, it was easy to notice that, over the last few days, she’d been acting a bit… odd.”

“She seemed really upset for no reason—she didn’t even want to play Hide and Shriek, and that’s our favorite game!” Phantasma exclaimed.

“At first we thought it was ‘cause the full moon is tomorrow night,” Elsa added. “Winnie’s a special werewolf, y’know? It’s ‘cause she was born on the full moon—so she gets a little wilder the closer we get to it.”

“It’s also why she has fur and claws and long ears all the time,” Tanis finished. “If her snout was longer, she’d look just like a littler Anubis!”

“A permanent werewolf?” Daphne asked, with a shudder. “That poor girl!”

“Oh, the lead-up to the full moon isn’t that bad!” Sibella assured her. “She just gets more energetic and feels the need to howl more, that’s all.”

“But doesn’t she want to be normal?” Daphne asked.

“I just told ya—she was born on the full moon,” Elsa reminded her, confused by Daphne’s words.

Vincent coughed quietly and spoke to Daphne in an undertone—

“I believe they’re trying to say that this permanent werewolf form is normal for her,” he pointed out.

“Oh…” Daphne facepalmed, going red with embarrassment.

“But that’s what was concerning about the last few days,” Sibella went on. “She wasn’t as energetic and didn’t feel like howling!”

“I thought she might be ill,” Miss Grimwood sighed. “But I couldn’t find any symptoms other than the circles under her eyes.” She indicated the little dragon with her. “Matches, my familiar, seemed to think it was a lack of sleep.”

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah,” the little dragon growled, nodding. “Tossing and turning, uh-huh.”

“And so, I tried to contact her father yesterday,” Miss Grimwood went on. “I got the Count instead.”

“He had already vanished earlier yesterday, just before sunrise,” Dracula said, solemnly.

The scrawny, sunken-eyed man at Dracula’s side now turned to Vincent, speaking in a hushed voice—

“It was the spiders!” he said, in a knowing tone. “They came for him!” He looked at the young monsters. “And then they came for her.”

“I beg your pardon?” Vincent asked, utterly confused.

“Pay him no mind,” Dracula said, waving a hand in dismissal. “Renfield was my mortal aide during my encounter with the Harkers and their friends. I recently fired Igor after Chandra was found to be at large again—I didn’t trust him. So, I brought Renfield back as a vampire as my new aide—but I fear the obsession with spiders he’d had as a mortal also made the trip with him!”

“No, it’s true!” Renfield exclaimed to Dracula. He looked to Sibella. “I was right, wasn’t I? The spiders took Winnie away, didn’t they? That very night?”

“I don’t really think that’s possible, Renfield,” Sibella replied, carefully and gently choosing her words. She turned to Vincent. “None of us really saw what happened—but Renfield is right about it happening last night.”

“I hadn’t had a chance to tell Winnie about her father—in the condition she was in, I didn’t want to upset her,” Miss Grimwood fretted. “But then, I went to check on her, and like her father, just before dawn…”

“She was gone!” Tanis finished, her voice cracking.

“I don’t understand how she could have snuck out, run out, or jumped out a window without any of us hearing her,” Sibella sighed. “Especially me—my hearing is fang-tastic as a bat! She would have had to have flown away!”

“It was the spiders—that’s how!” Renfield exclaimed again. “The flying spiders!”

Everyone stared at Renfield for a moment before turning to Dracula with unreadable expressions. The vampire shrugged.

“Good help is hard to find…”

Vincent rolled his eyes, and then silently indicated for anyone with relevant information to continue.

“The only other facility near our school is a military academy,” Miss Grimwood said. “If any of them had seen Winnie, we certainly would have heard about it. She must be in the woods around here.”

“Then the first thing we gotta do is, like, do a quick look for any clues Winnie might’ve left behind inside, and then look around the woods,” Shaggy said.

Daphne looked to him in surprise.

“I’m sorry, did I just hear you say that!?” she asked.

But Shaggy looked absolutely serious as he turned back to her.

“If I’d said ‘yes’ to Miss G’s offer to coach the girls, I’d have been here. Who knows—an extra set of eyes might have helped in preventing Winnie’s disappearance.”

“Rhaggy’s right—Rhi’d have been here, too,” Scooby realized.

“Yeah, I might have been, too,” Scrappy added.

“Oh, Guys…” Daphne sighed.

“I certainly don’t blame you for this,” Miss Grimwood assured them, clearly moved.

“It’s hardly your fault,” Vincent agreed. “But I am proud to see you take responsibility. Very well—lead the search, Shaggy. Voudini, Leonidas, Helena, and I will back you and the others up.”

“Of course! And be sure to help in any way you can, too, Girls!” Miss Grimwood said.

“Yeah, we will!” Elsa promised, as the other three nodded.

“And just to prove to everyone that Julius and I had nothing to do with this, we’ll help, too,” Googie said. Julius also nodded in agreement.

“The Wolfman is our friend, as Winifred is our daughters’ friend,” Dracula said, as the monsters nodded, too. “We must aid, as well.” He looked to his son. “Alucard, the hostilities are over—go back to the castle and look after your stepmother.”

“…Yes, Father,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation. In a flurry of bat wings, he was gone, Sibella waving after him.

Dracula turned to Renfield in exasperation.

“And you can follow—”

“Please, let me stay!” Renfield begged. “I want to see the flying spiders again! Please!”

Dracula rolled his eyes, but gave him a wave of dismissal to do whatever he wanted.

“Okay, Gang,” Shaggy instructed. “Like, just follow me!”

And he led the way back inside the school.

Chapter Text

Shaggy had to pause as they entered the school; it was… creepy, yet welcoming—not unlike Vincent’s castle, he realized. It was also larger than he’d expected, and he quickly realized what would need to happen if they expected to make any quick headway in solving this mystery.

“So, uh…” he said, turning back to the others. “I’m beginning to get why Freddie always asks us to split up to look for clues. Like, we got a lotta ground to cover here, don’t we?”

Daphne nodded in agreement.

“Winnie, her father, and the other werewolves are counting on us,” she said.

“Right,” Shaggy sighed. “Well, Gang, I hate to say it, but we’re gonna have to split up. Scoob, I think you and I should let the girls show us to their dorms—we might find something there.”

Scooby sighed, but nodded.

“I’ll leave my girls in your hands, Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood said. “Girls, be sure to spare no detail—the littlest thing might end up being a clue.”

“You bet!” Phantasma exclaimed.

Dracula frowned.

“I want Renfield to be with you—to keep an eye on my little Sibella and her friends,” he said.

“…Fair enough,” Shaggy replied, not about to argue with the vampire. “Daphne, can you and Googie check out the ground near the windows surrounding the school—for tracks or anything like that?”

“Sure—we’ll probably extend our search to the rest of the grounds, too,” Daphne replied. She looked to Googie. “That alright with you?”

“Perfectly fine,” Googie promised; she and Daphne gave them a wave and headed back outside.

“Okay. Flim-Flam, Scrappy—can you two check the attic?” Shaggy asked.

“Consider it done,” the boy agreed.

“Yeah, you got it!” Scrappy said. He turned to Matches. “Think you can show us around up there?”

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!” Matches replied, excitedly. “Follow me!”

“Go with them, Talbot,” Leonidas II instructed.

The wolf barked something in agreement, and followed them as Matches led the way.

Shaggy then looked to the monsters; they were, amazingly, waiting for their instructions—even Dracula.

“Um… So, I think for the sake of keeping the peace, I think Vincent should go with the Count and Mr. Belmont to check out the cellar,” he said.

“Probably a wise move,” Vincent said. “Leonidas, come with me. I hope we won’t have to intervene.”

“Too true,” Leonidas II replied, as Dracula and Julius exchanged unreadable glances.

Shaggy sighed in quiet relief as they went off quietly.

“Right, then I guess the rest of the monster dads will go with Miss G and Mr. Voudini and cover the ground floor?”

“Perfect—right this way, Gentlemen!” Miss Grimwood said, indicating them to follow.

Voudini gave Shaggy a nod of approval and went with them.

“Okay, Scoob, Girls—and Mr. Renfield—come with me!” Shaggy said, heading upstairs.

“We all got adjoining rooms up here,” Elsa explained, as they headed to the dorms.

“We usually like to leave the doors open and chat during the night,” Sibella said. Her face fell. “But we left Winnie’s room closed last night so we wouldn’t disturb her. I’m sure if we’d left it open, one of us would’ve heard something when she’d vanished.”

Shaggy and Scooby could see the guilt in all of the girls’ faces—something they knew all too well, having opened the Chest of Demons.

“Hey,” Shaggy said, gently. “I promise, Girls, we’re gonna do everything we can to find Winnie.”

“Rheah,” Scooby added. “Rhi can get her scent if I sniff rharound her room.”

“You’ll really help us?” Tanis asked. “But you just met us!”

“It’s what Vincent’s been teaching us all this time,” Shaggy said. “If someone needs our help, the right thing to do is offer it.”

“That’s really nice of you,” Phantasma said. “Oh, here’s Winnie’s room, right here!”

“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed. “It definitely looks like there was a struggle going on in here!”

Scooby sniffed at the frame of Winnie’s bed, which had several claw marks all over it.

“Oh, those have been there since she started acting all weird,” Elsa explained. “Like Miss Grimwood and Matches said, she’s been sleepin’ bad all this week.”

“Maybe she had nightmares and was struggling against something in her sleep,” Shaggy wondered. “Scoob, what do you think?”

Scooby sniffed around.

“Rhis wasn’t from rhnightmares,” he said. “Rhis is like when Rhi got rhat rheadache and was clawing the door. Rhe was rhurting.”

“Oh…” Elsa sighed, even her deadpan expression turning sad.

“Oh, no…” Tanis sobbed.

“I don’t understand; why wouldn’t she tell us if she was hurting?” Sibella asked, looking distressed.

“We tell each other everything; it doesn’t make sense!” Phantasma agreed.

“Like, I’m sure there’s an explanation—what, Renfield?” Shaggy asked, slightly annoyed and slightly creeped out as Renfield placed his withered hand on his shoulder.

Renfield looked at Shaggy with his intense, sunken eyes and then pointed to Winnie’s pillow.

“…What am I looking at here?” Shaggy asked, baffled.

Renfield tutted and picked up something from the pillow. At first, it looked like he wasn’t holding anything, but then he held it up to the light, so it reflected it—

“Spider silk!” he said, knowingly. “It was on her father’s pillow when he vanished the night before! And I saw them, flying away! That’s how I knew the spiders had to be behind it!”

Shaggy, Scooby, and the girls just stared.

“Well, whaddaya know…?” Shaggy mused, after a moment. “Looks like Renfield might be on to something after all!”

Renfield responded with a wide, satisfied grin.

“…You still give me the creeps, though,” Shaggy informed him. “Scoob, what do you think? Scoob? Hey, Scoob!”

Scooby had suddenly turned his full attention to the window, his ears perked up, as though trying to triangulate a sound.

“What’s up, Scoob?” Shaggy asked.

“Rhou hear that?” Scooby said.

“Huh? Hear wha…?” Shaggy trailed off. There was some weird sound, alright—very faint and far-off. “Wow, what is that? I can’t make it out—Girls, do you hear that?”

He turned back to the girls, who looked confused and baffled.

“Uh… sorry, but I don’t hear anything,” Elsa said, apologetically. The other girls shook their heads.

“Really?” Shaggy asked. He turned to Renfield. “What about you?”

Renfield shook his head, looking just as confused as the girls—until Tanis suddenly gasped.

“You hear it!?” Shaggy asked.

“No, but, now I remember—I was checking up on Winnie yesterday evening, before we all went to bed,” Tanis said. “She said something about ‘that sound’ about to ‘get louder again’ and ruin her sleep! I didn’t think anything about it because I couldn’t hear it—I thought she was del… deller…” She frowned, trying to find the word.

“Delirious?” Sibella offered.

“Yes, that’s it! Sorry—I’m not as good in English as I am in Egyptian…”

“Well, Scoob and I certainly aren’t delirious, and we can hear it…” Shaggy mused.

“Rhaphne, too,” Scooby observed.

“Say what?” Shaggy asked.

Scooby pointed out the window; Shaggy took a look, seeing Daphne out on the grounds, clearly alert to the same, odd sound—even more alert than he and Scooby had been. Googie was with her, scratching her head in confusion—clearly unable to hear it.

Suddenly, though, a loud, shrill howl echoed from the direction of the woods beyond the school grounds, startling both Daphne and Googie—and everyone in the dorm room.

“Winnie—!” Sibella exclaimed.

“Rhat’s her!?” Scooby asked.

“No doubt about it—it’s got to be!” Phantasma gasped.

She phased through the window, heading in that direction.

“Wait a minute—wait!” Shaggy yelped. He let out a frustrated yelp as Sibella now changed to her bat form, also following the direction of Winnie’s howl.

“Wait! Wait for us!” Tanis cried.

“Yeah, no fair! We wanna help!” Elsa protested

“Oh, no!” Renfield groaned, running from the room. “The Count won’t like this; I must inform him…!”

“Zoinks! Scoob, we gotta go after them!” Shaggy exclaimed.

“Rwhat!?”

“Like, do you wanna be here to explain to the Count and the Phantom as to why their daughters aren’t with us!?”

“Ruh-uh!”

“Then, come on!” Shaggy instructed, pulling out his charm that transmogrified to his Masamune katana. “Tanis, Elsa, stick close to me and Scoob—on the count of three, we’ll all jump!”

“Huh!?” Elsa asked.

“But we can’t fly!” Tanis pointed out.

“Just trust me!” Shaggy said. “Now, come on—before we lose Phanty and Sibella, too! One… two… three… JUMP!”

They all leaped from the window, and Shaggy raised the sword—

“Aeroga!”

The magical gust caught them all in an updraft, allowing them to glide through the air.

“Wow!” Elsa grinned.

“It’s heka!” Tanis exclaimed, using the ancient Egyptian word for “magic” in her excitement. “Now we can help, too!”

Daphne, who had fully expected that to happen, still fretted as she saw them gliding after Phatasma and Sibella.

“Shaggy, what are you doing!?” she called up to him.

“Saving my neck—literally!” he returned. “Look, get Vincent—tell him the girls heard Winnie, and that we’re trying to pick up the trail before it goes cold again!”

“I’ll text Vincent and go with you!” Daphne retorted, touching her pendant to transmogrify her staff. She turned to Googie, who was watching the whole scene wide-eyed. “There’s no time to explain; if you’re coming along, stick close to me—if not, stand back!” She raised her staff. “Aeroga!”

Googie chose to stand back, still not sure what was happening; she stared as she watched Daphne glide along behind Shaggy, Scooby, and the girls.

“Hey!” a voice above her called.

Googie looked up, seeing Flim-Flam, Scrappy, Matches, and Talbot sticking out of the attic window.

“What just happened!?” Flim-Flam called down.

“Yeah—Talbot and I heard this weirdo sound, and then we all heard someone howling,” Scrappy called. “And now Uncle Scooby is gliding with Shaggy, Daphne, and the rest of the girls!?”

“Your guess is as good as mine!” Googie replied, helplessly.

She let out a shriek of surprise as Vincent teleported with Leonidas II, Dracula, Renfield, and Julius; Daphne’s text was visible in his crystal ball.

“Helena!” he yelled, just barely refraining from unleashing a shockwave with his shout.

Voudini teleported in with Miss Grimwood, as well as the other monsters; any ire that they—and Dracula—had over their daughters’ running off was clearly eclipsed by Vincent’s ire, and they were intimidated enough by him to keep quiet.

“Helena, I have no right to discipline your students—” Vincent began.

“I know, I know,” Miss Grimwood said, cringing. “Leave them to me, Vincent.”

Leonidas II whistled up to Talbot; Talbot relayed—via Scrappy—for the others to get on his back, and once they all had done so, leaped from the window to a trellis, and then to the awning above the porch before leaping down to the ground; Matches got off and leaped to Miss Grimwood’s shoulder.

“Voudini, keep the peace here—we’ll find them,” Vincent said.

“Of course, Vincent; you, Leonidas, and Helena go—there’s no time to lose,” Voudini nodded.

“Let me go, too,” Googie said. “This may be something bigger than we realize, and if Mr. Belmont is staying here—”

“Fine, fine!” Vincent interrupted, holding out the crystal.

“Vince, please…!” Flim-Flam began, not wanting to be left behind. Scrappy just put on his best pleading puppy eyes.

Vincent gave Flim-Flam and Scrappy a look, and then cast a glance at the confused and concerned monsters and silently acknowledged that they’d be safer with him.

“Oh, very well,” he conceded.

With that, he triangulated Daphne, Shaggy, and Scooby’s location with his crystal, and teleported his group after them.

Chapter Text

The incident of the girls rushing after Winnie hadn’t gone unnoticed, but even before that, the goings-on and the arrival of both the monsters and the monster-hunters had been under observation.

“Revolta!” the plant-like creature exclaimed. “Look! Look at what the Venus spy-traps are picking up!”

“Yes, Creeper,” the spiderlike witch mused, watching the feed from the magical plants she had infested in Miss Grimwood’s garden. “I knew those soft-hearted monsters would react to the werewolves’ disappearance, just like their daughters! It’s a pity that Van Ghoul had to interfere and break up the argument between them and Belmont.” She scowled, but then smirked. “But he’s just like those monsters—he’s gone soft on account of his daughter.” She glanced at Daphne and tutted. “What is it with those sentimental fools, Creeper? Those monsters were once the most feared creatures in the world, and Vincent Van Ghoul was the most powerful warlock in the world. And they threw it all away—and for what!? Was fatherhood really worth losing their clout!?”

“Their loss is our gain, Revolta!” Creeper grinned. He cackled as he skittered over to a set of cells holding a crowd of enraged people. “Just look at the werewolves now!”

“You won’t get away with this!” one of them said. “And since you asked, yes—fatherhood was absolutely worth this! Winnie is my reason for being—my pride and joy! I wouldn’t trade her for all the clout in the world! Dracula and the others will back me up on this.”

Revolta scoffed.

“You’ll be singing a different tune once I have your daughter here,” she warned, causing him to pale and back down. She grinned. “See, Wolfman? One threat to her, and you’re cowed. I don’t know how she’s managed to evade me, but I’ll soon have her here, just like I have all the other werewolves.”

The others—also all werewolves—in the cells now began to loudly protest, but Revolta was unconcerned.

“That’s enough out of all of you!” she said.

She raised her wand, and as it began to glow, it began to emit a shrill, high-pitched tone. It was too high-pitched for her or Creeper to hear, but all of the werewolves now howled and roared in protest, covering their ears and cringing, before going slack and listless—and obedient.

“That’s more like it,” she smirked.

“Revolta!” Creeper exclaimed. “Look—the Archmage’s heiress!”

The Venus spy-traps were focused on Daphne and Googie now; Googie wasn’t reacting to the high-pitched tone from the wand, but Daphne definitely was.

“What do you mean you don’t hear that!?” Daphne was asking Googie. “It’s plain as day—that sound!”

“I’m sorry, I don’t hear a thing!” Googie said, shrugging apologetically.

“I thought you said that that tone can only be heard by werewolves, dogs, or people who were once werewolves!” Creeper said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Revolta said, looking surprised. Her eyes narrowed. “It means that she is—or, more likely, once was—a werewolf!” A cruel grin crossed her face. “Ooh, this has possibilities, Creeper!”

“You mean…?” Creeper asked, eagerly staring back with his single eye.

“Yes,” Revolta grinned. “We’re going to add her to our collection of captive werewolves—Vincent Van Ghoul will have to surrender to me then!”

“And then you’ll get the rest of the Grimwood Girls here and have their fathers surrender to you like the Wolfman did!” Creeper added.

“Yes—and then I will have the most powerful army at my disposal!” Revolta finished, her eyes gleaming. She walked over to one of her slumbering spider-bats and touched her glowing wand to it. “Now is the perfect time, while she is separated from Van Ghoul. You know what to do, little one!”

The spider-bat chittered and squeaked, gnashing its chelicerae in response before flying off through the window.

Daphne was more than a little annoyed; Shaggy, Scooby, Elsa, and Tanis had a fair lead and were somewhere ahead—she had landed after her shorter glide and was now walking through the woods, trying to catch up.

Though she was nowhere near as vain as she’d been as a teenager, it still irked her to be walking through the woods in her good shoes; out of habit, she was keeping her gaze on the ground to limit the amount of dirt she would be picking up.

The sound of fluttering wings distracted her for a moment; she looked up, but, seeing nothing, she shrugged it off—until she felt something crawling in her hair.

“What—!?” she began, reaching up to grab it, but she stopped and fell silent as something covered her ears.

“You will do exactly as I say,” a voice echoed in her head.

“I will do exactly as you say…” she repeated softly.

“I know what you are—you know what you are. You’re one of the werewolves; deep down, you know you have the instincts.”

“I have… the instincts,” she repeated.

“That’s right. You heard the sound—my werewolf beacon. You will hear it again—and you must listen to it, listen to your instincts. But most of all, you will obey me.”

“I will obey…”

“Good, very good. Now, you will forget this entire conversation. But you will act once you hear the beacon again.”

“I will forget, but I will act.”

“Yes, and when you act, you will attack all those in your way—all of those stopping you from reaching me—Revolta. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Revolta.”

“Good. And on the count of three, you will forget this conversation. One… two… three!”

Daphne snapped back to awareness, confused for a moment.

“I must’ve spaced out for a moment…” she said, aloud. Frustrated, she picked up her phone. “Shaggy, can’t you find somewhere to wait for me!?”

“No can do! Scoob and I are struggling to keep up with the girls!” Shaggy countered. “We’re not letting ‘em outta our sight!”

“Well, where are you!?” Daphne asked.

“Somewhere in the woods!”

Daphne stared at her phone in disbelief, gesturing at the forest all around her.

“That doesn’t help me!”

“Perhaps I can help, then,” Vincent said, teleporting in.

Daphne sighed in relief, before freezing, thinking she might be in trouble.

“Okay, look I know what you’re going to say—”

“Do you?” Vincent asked. “Because I was about to commend you, Shaggy, and Scooby for making sure the girls didn’t get into any further trouble.”

Daphne blinked, but then smiled.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes, really—now, let’s rejoin the others. I imagine Helena is giving Sibella and Phantasma a good talking-to for that stunt they pulled…” Vincent trailed off, now getting a good look at her. “Daphne, I think you must have walked into a spider’s web without realizing it—there’s webbing all over your hair.”

“What!? Ew!” she frantically ran her hands through her hair, trying to get the webbing out.

Vincent wasn’t sure why, but something about this was giving him a bad feeling; gently, he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Will you be alright?” he asked.

His genuine concern took her by surprise, causing her to calm down.

“I will be after I get my hair clean—I mean, I don’t think I got bitten…” She felt the back of her neck to make sure. She glanced back at Vincent, surprised to see him on the alert, looking for something. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know, but I have the oddest feeling that we’re being watched. Let’s rejoin the others; I imagine they’ll be wanting to search for Winnie while the trail is still hot.”

“Terrific, so I’ll be running into even more forest dirt…” Daphne sighed, as they teleported.

As they arrived, they did indeed see Miss Grimwood giving Sibella and Phanty a quick chiding.

“I know you’re concerned for Winnie, but you two should have known better than to fly off like that,” she said. “However, she does seem to be close by, so we’ll discuss that later. Shaggy, Daphne, thank you for looking after my girls.”

“Like, you’re welcome, Miss G, but it was the right thing to do.”

“And it was mostly Shaggy, Ma’am,” Daphne said.

“I’m sorry, Miss Grimwood,” Sibella said, looking at ground.

“So am I,” Phanty said.

“I accept your apologies,” Miss Grimwood said. She turned to Leonidas II. “Does Talbot sense anything?”

“It certainly looks like he does,” the warlock replied, seeing Talbot on alert.

“Rhi do, too!” Scooby said.

“Yeah, me too—look at these claw marks on the tree trunks!” Scrappy added. “Winnie was definitely here.” He briefly held up his claws to Winnie’s claw marks to compare the direction. “I’d say she went that way, deeper into the woods—what do you think, Uncle Scooby? You were the one who got to get her scent.”

Scooby sniffed at the claw marks, and then sniffed around the forest floor.

“Rheah, I agree,” he said.

“Why would she be running away from the school?” Googie wondered aloud.

“If her father is missing, probably to find him,” Flim-Flam said, quietly.

“Scooby, can you lead the way and follow her scent?” Vincent asked.

“Rheah!” Scooby nodded. “Follow me!”

“Back him up, Talbot,” Leonidas II instructed.

The wolf barked and moved to follow just behind Scooby.

“And I want the rest of you—that’s everyone—sticking together,” Vincent instructed. “That means no one running off, even if we hear her howling again—we go together. Understood?”

The girls nodded.

“Very well—lead on, Scooby.”

“Right!” Scooby barked. He put his nose to the ground and started tracking.

The rest of them followed Scooby and Talbot; Vincent kept an eye on his group, but also kept looking behind him every few minutes.

He still felt as though they were being watched—and his sixth sense kept nagging him that Daphne was in great danger.

He silently renewed his vow of protection as they headed deeper into the woods.

Chapter Text

If the others had been hoping for Winnie to howl again so that they could better pinpoint her location, they were in for a disappointment; Winnie had fallen silent, much to the concern of the other girls, who were still calling out for her.

“I can’t help but feel like she’s close by,” Sibella said.

“I’m with ya,” Elsa agreed. “For some reason, she’s not answering!”

“But why?” Phanty asked. “She knows we were worried about her when we thought she was sick…”

“If she’s gone without sleep these past few nights, she could easily be disoriented and confused,” Shaggy said. “How you doing up there, Scoob?”

“She refinitely went this way!” Scooby assured them, as he sniffed along the forest floor. “Right over… Ruh-oh…” He stopped as he reached a large puddle of mud. “Rhi’ve lost the scent!”

“Oh no,” Daphne sighed. “It’s okay, Scooby; you did your best.”

“I was afraid of this,” Miss Grimwood fretted. “She’s gone beyond the forest and into the Barren Bog.”

“Wasn’t too long rhago,” Scooby said. He sniffed the edge of the mud puddle. “Rhabout an hour, at most.”

“I concur,” Scrappy agreed, sniffing, too. “She might have clawed some of the trees in the bog—you could still track her that way, right, Uncle Scooby?”

“If she did, rhyeah,” Scooby said, sniffing the air. “But Rhi don’t know if she did—rhere’s nothing close by…”

Talbot also sniffed the air, ears drooping as he, too, failed to pick up Winnie’s scent. Leonidas II comforted him.

“So we’ve just gotta keep lookin’ in the bog, then,” Elsa declared.

“I don’t think I like the idea of us wandering around in the marshes—especially with the sun setting,” Vincent declared.

“But we can’t just leave her here and go back!” Tanis cried.

“I never said we would,” Vincent assured her. “One thing I noticed when Scooby was tracking her was that she did seem to double back a few times.”

“I get it,” Googie said. “There’s a chance she might double back again.”

“So we can set up camp here,” Daphne finished.

“Yes, this clearing will be just about perfect,” Vincent said, leading them to it. “Leonidas, I think, between the two of us, we can conjure up a comfortable dwelling.”

“Undoubtedly,” Leonidas II replied. “…Though we might have a bit of a clash on which style to use…”

“It was my idea; we’ll use the Athenian style, naturally,” Vincent insisted.

“Surely you don’t expect me to not put a little bit of a Corinthian thumbprint on it, do you?” he replied.

“Oh boy…” Flim-Flam mused. “Vince doesn’t back down when it comes to aesthetics, that’s for sure.”

“You both have forgotten, haven’t you?” Miss Grimwood tutted. “Great as Athena and Poseidon both are, I believe the powers of my patron Goddess, Lady Hestia, will be of the best use here. Stand aside, if you please…”

The two warlocks offered no argument, standing back as Miss Grimwood conjured up a small cabin in the clearing by transmogrifying dirt, mud, and fallen twigs and leaves.

“…I like her style,” Googie commented, grinning as the two humbled warlocks silently acknowledged her handiwork.

Daphne nodded, biting her lip; as much as she admired and looked up to Vincent, even she had been amused by what had just transpired.

“You’ll find a room and amenities for each of you,” Miss Grimwood said, indicating for them to enter. “Get yourselves cleaned up, and I’m sure Vincent will have a meal ready for us—one that will, I hope, convince Winnie to come join us.”

“I shall do my best, Helena,” Vincent promised.

“And I’ll set up some protection spells for the exterior,” Leonidas II added.

“Oh, yes, thank you—that will be most helpful,” Miss Grimwood sighed. “Come along, then, everyone!”

Vincent helped guide the others inside, pausing as he saw Daphne trying to keep a straight face.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she bluffed.

“Look, I know what you must be thinking,” Vincent said. “And let me just inform you that all of the Olympians defer to Hestia. And not just the Olympians—even Hades himself won’t cross his beloved elder sister.”

“Mm-hmm…” Daphne began, but then she paused. “What did you just say?”

Now Vincent paused, as well.

“…Let’s hold that thought until we find Winnie safe and sound,” he instructed. “But I assure you, we will return to it.”

Daphne nodded, running a hand though her hair again—and letting out a noise of disgust as more spider silk stuck to her hand.

“Right—and I’m going to go take a nice, hot shower before dinner,” she insisted. Suppressing another “eugh,” she headed off to her room.

Vincent sighed, but then turned back as Shaggy watched her run off.

“Where’d she get all that spider webbing in her hair?” Shaggy asked.

“I’m not sure,” Vincent replied. “She had it when I found her in the woods—I assumed she ran into a large web. Why?”

Shaggy scratched his head.

“I dunno… Maybe it’s nothing, but you remember how that Renfield guy was going on about flying spiders and how they had something to do with Winnie’s disappearance?”

“Yes…”

“Well, Renfield actually found spider silk on Winnie’s pillow when we were up in the girls’ dormitories.”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed.

“You didn’t mention that!”

“Yeah, sorry; like, I guess I got distracted when Sibella and Phanty flew off,” Shaggy said, apologetically.

“That’s understandable,” Vincent assured him.

“Do you think it means anything?” Shaggy asked. “I mean, maybe she did just walk into a web—she’d have noticed a flying spider, right?”

“Yes, I would assume she would…” Vincent frowned. Again, the sensation from earlier of being watched and that nagging feeling that Daphne was in danger returned to him. “At least, I would hope so.”

Shaggy gulped.

“Do you think…?” he began.

“I don’t want to jump to any conclusions and cause any undue worry or alarm until we have more to go on,” Vincent said, glancing over at Flim-Flam and Scrappy, who were busy talking to Matches. “However, I can assure you that I will keep watch over Daphne.”

“Like, you didn’t have to tell me that—I know,” Shaggy said, managing a smile now. “You keep watch over all of us—and I don’t think we thank you enough for it.”

“Rheah, rhank you!” Scooby added.

“It is noted and appreciated,” Vincent said, returning the smile. “Now, go wash up like everyone else.”

“Yeah; c’mon, Scoob!”

“Right!”

They bounded off, and Vincent now headed outside to where Leonidas II and Talbot were helping to cast the protection spells around the cabin.

“Vincent?” the other warlock asked. “I thought you were going to start dinner. …What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Vincent said. “But I need to test something.”

“What do you mean?” Leonidas II asked.

“When you’ve finished casting the protection spells, leave one of the ground floor windows partially open—enough for something the size of a winged tarantula.”

“…You don’t mean that Renfield might be right—!?”

“We won’t know for certain unless we try this,” Vincent pointed out. “But I hope I’m wrong.” …For Daphne’s sake…

Leonidas II nodded, sensing Vincent’s unspoken addition as he recalled the webbing in Daphne’s hair, as well.

“You can count on me, Vincent.”

“I know. Thank you.”

Vincent returned inside, the concerns upon his mind growing by the second.

Dinner had been another one of Vincent’s culinary masterpieces—even Miss Grimwood’s students, who hadn’t expected to be hungry with all of the worry for their friend, found themselves putting quite a bit of food away; Sibella, in particular, had sunk her fangs into an undercooked leg of lamb and was enjoying it immensely.

Shaggy and Scooby, of course, were putting away the most food, but they had a surprise contender with Daphne, who—now spiderweb-free after cleaning up—was putting away almost as much food as Shaggy and Scooby, much to the surprise of Flim-Flam and Scrappy, not to mention Googie, who hadn’t seen anything like it before.

“You certainly have healthy appetites,” Googie commented.

“Rhank you!” Scooby grinned, before returning to his meal.
Vincent arched an eyebrow at how Daphne was giving them a run for the money, but didn’t think much of it… at least, not until Miss Grimwood leaned over to speak to him in an undertone—

“Is that… normal for them, Vincent?” she asked.

“For the most part, yes,” Vincent said, not going into the specifics regarding Daphne, whom, he assumed, was just feeling the effects of a long day without much to eat until now. …At least, he hoped…

“I see…” she said. “I just thought I’d ought to mention… We noticed Winnie’s appetite suddenly increasing just before her behavior changed so drastically—but it was rather like this. …Exactly like this, in fact. At first, I thought it was the approaching full moon, and then I thought it was her illness, but now these three… Vincent, have any of them experienced lycanthropy before?”

Vincent shut his eyes; he wasn’t sure about Shaggy and Scooby, but, again, this level of appetite was normal for them. It was not, however, normal for Daphne, and as far as lycanthropy was concerned…

“Daphne had a bout of it—the very evening I met her,” he realized.

Leonidas II, who had been close enough to hear the quiet conversation, now looked concerned, as well.

“You didn’t mention she was a lycanthrope,” he said, quietly.

“She isn’t; it was just one night,” Vincent said. “She was cured—at least, we thought she was cured. She hasn’t had a transformation since then.”

There was an awkward silence, punctuated by the youngsters’ eating.

“What was that about the winged spiders, too?” Leonidas II asked.

“Shaggy found evidence that there might have been one in Winnie’s dormitory. And now Daphne had webbing in her hair, as well.” Vincent sighed, his worries now compounding. “I don’t know what to think anymore…”

“I don’t know what I think either, Vincent; all I know is that werewolves have been going missing, and something was affecting Winnie before she disappeared—and Daphne seems to be affected by it, too,” she replied. “That’s the only thing I can say with certainty.”

Vincent glanced over at Daphne again, his heart sinking as she snatched a dinner roll that Shaggy had been going for with an almost… primal aggression, he realized.

“Oh, Goddess above…” he whispered.

“Do what you must, Vincent—for her sake,” Miss Grimwood encouraged.

“We’ll understand completely,” Leonidas II promised.

Vincent gave a nod, but he was still at a loss—would taking Daphne away from here help, or was it already too late? Was the only way to save her connected to Winnie somehow? How could he abandon Winnie when he had given his word to help find her? …But what about his obligations to his own daughter-by-choice?

For the first time in over two millennia, Vincent realized that he had no idea what to do—and time was running out.

Chapter Text

Her behavior a dinner aside, Daphne seemed otherwise normal as they cleared the table; Miss Grimwood was instructing the girls to retire to their rooms.

“It’s no good if we run around the bog and get separated,” she tutted. “But we’ll leave lights in the windows, and hopefully they’ll be a beacon for poor Winnie.”

Daphne, who had been looking through her phone to see if there had been any werewolf sightings in the mortal news, suddenly looked over at Miss Grimwood.

“What did you say!?”

“I said the lights will be a beacon for Winnie,” she replied, looking surprised.

Daphne blinked, trying to recall something.

“Daphne?” Vincent asked, his concern growing again.

“Beacon…” she repeated. “I feel like I’m forgetting something important—something about a beacon. I wonder if—JEEPERS!”

She let out a cry of fright as something hit Leonidas II’s protective barrier; she whirled around, seeing something bounce off of it—right at the spot where Leonidas II had left the window open at Vincent’s request.

Vincent was at the window in an instant, protectively grasping Daphne’s shoulder as they watched the creature fly away, off into the night.

“What was that!?” Daphne exclaimed, clearly startled. “It looks like the weirdest bat I’ve ever seen!”

“That can’t be my dad,” Sibella insisted. “I’d know his screech anywhere—that wasn’t it.”

“Not to mention that Voudini would have let us know if Dracula had slipped away,” Leonidas II agreed. He looked at Vincent. “I think you were right.”

“Right about what?” Daphne asked, looking back at him.

Vincent didn’t respond, but he still gripped her shoulder.

“I’m not entirely sure yet, but I think it might have something to do with what Renfield was saying earlier,” Vincent said, wondering how much to tell her. “But never mind that; are you sure you’re alright, Daphne?”

“Yes; I just got startled,” she assured him. “But, wait—are you saying that wasn’t a bat? That it was one of those ‘flying spiders’ that Renfield was talking about? I didn’t think we were taking him seriously.”

“What, they didn’t tell ya?” Elsa asked, not realizing the seriousness of what was going on. “Renfield found spider silk on Winnie’s pillow.”

“Yeah, just before Shaggy and Scooby heard that weird sound that no one else could hear,” Phanty added, as Scooby and Shaggy both cringed.

“I heard that weird sound, too,” Scrappy pointed out. “So did Talbot.”

“And so did I,” Daphne said.

“And so did Winnie,” Tanis recalled. “But Winnie was the only one out of all of us who heard it.”

“That’s weird,” Googie frowned. “I definitely didn’t hear anything. But I wonder… Winnie is a werewolf, right? And Talbot, who’s a wolf, heard the same sound she did. And so did Scooby and Scrappy, who are dogs.”

Daphne paled, and Vincent shut his eyes; she’d put the pieces together—or had just about done so.

“Wh-what are you saying!?” Daphne said. “Why would I be hearing the same sounds that dogs and a werewolf would hear!?” She whirled around, staring out the window where the spider-bat had been, and her hand went to her hair again, where all that spider silk had been. “Oh no… No no no no no no…”

“Wait…” Googie said, embarrassed now. “Do you mean you’re a werewolf?”

“Not anymore, thanks to my luck potion that I—”

“I thought I was cured!” Daphne cried back, cutting Flim-Flam off. “I thought I was, but…!”

“Daphne, wait,” Vincent said, still gripping her shoulder. “Don’t jump to conclusions just yet!”

“Yeah, he’s right!” Shaggy added, hastily. “I mean, I heard the sound, too—and I was never a werewolf!”

Talbot sniffed at Shaggy and then barked something, prompting Scooby and Scrappy to gulp.

“Uh… Talbot says to ask if you’re really, really sure about that one, Shaggy,” Scrappy translated, his eyes wide.

Shaggy stared in disbelief.

“You gotta be kidding.”

“Rhi don’t think so, Rhaggy,” Scooby whimpered. “Rhemember that time the three of us went to Moonlit Rhastle? There was a rherewolf running rharound, and Rhi never saw the two of rhou together.”

“Uh…” Shaggy said, his expression blank.

Googie was staring at Shaggy now, but Daphne was even more distressed.

“But the flying spiders didn’t come for Shaggy—they came for me!” she shrieked. “Just like they came for Winnie! And now I know why—tomorrow’s the full moon!”

“Daphne—” Vincent began.

“I’m turning again—I just know it! Flim-Flam’s potion has worn off! I’m going to be a werewolf again!”

Covering her face, she ran to her room, holding back sobs.

“Daphne!” Vincent called, running after her, knocking on the door.

“…I think we might’ve said the wrong thing, Phanty,” Elsa realized.

“You didn’t mean any harm,” Miss Grimwood assured them. “Whatever’s wrong, they’ll sort it out—you’ll see.”

“Like, I sure hope so,” Shaggy sighed.

“Daphne!” Vincent called again. “Daphne, if you don’t open this door, I’ll have to open it myself!”

“I’ve locked the door, so there’s no point in trying!” she shot back.

The words were barely out of her mouth when Vincent teleported in the room, his hands on his hips.

“Daphne Ann Blake!” he began, sternly.

She stared, forgetting, for a fleeting moment, about her dilemma.

“…I did not think that one through,” she admitted, after a moment.

“Clearly not.”

Daphne looked away.

“It always worked on my dad when I was a kid—and a teenager, too,” she admitted. “Locking myself in my room and sulking, I mean. He was always so busy that he didn’t have the time to try to be so persistent.”

“And from what you have implied on multiple occasions, you seemed to have resented him somewhat for his hands-off approach to parenting,” Vincent reminded her. “My approach, as you know, is not like that at all, and the ties between us are quite strong because of that. And while I do try not to treat you like a child, you’re certainly behaving very childishly at the moment!”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t know what else to do—I had to keep everyone away from me!” she cried.

“Why?” Vincent asked.

She looked at him in disbelief.

“Because I’m turning into a monster, that’s why!” she cried back. “In exactly 24 hours, the full moon will rise, and anyone near me is going to suffer the consequences!”

“Listen to me very carefully, Daphne,” Vincent replied, sternly. “You are not a monster.”

“Oh, really?” she retorted. “Then what else am I!?”

“You are my daughter-by-choice,” he replied, calmly. “And no heiress of mine is a monster—the only monster in our family is the ancestor I long rejected.”

Daphne looked as though she was about to say something else, but all that escaped her was a squeak as the dam burst and tears poured from her eyes. Vincent drew her into a hug, which she returned instantly.

“I know how frightened you must be—and you have every right to be,” he continued, still gently. “But you know that we’ve always solved our dilemmas together. I see no reason why this should be any different.”

“It’s different because I’m going to be a danger to others!” she sobbed.

“I know that’s not true,” Vincent returned. “When I was unsure of my transformation, you, along with the others, refused to believe that I would be a danger to you.”

“Because we knew you wouldn’t be a monster,” she pointed out.

“No. We didn’t know for certain what my transformation would be—for all we knew, it could have been a demon form like Asmodeus. Would you have abandoned me then?”

“But you didn’t—”

“Humor me and remain in the realms of conjecture for just a bit longer,” he requested. “If I had transformed into something like Asmodeus, would you have considered me to be a danger to you?”

“No,” she admitted.

“And why not?”

“Because… you’re you,” she said, simply.

“Exactly,” Vincent replied. “No matter what happens, you’ll still be you.”

She tightened her hug.

“I hear what you’re saying—I really do,” she promised. “But I’m still so scared…! Isn’t there anything you can do? Any kind of spell or magical item?”

Vincent thought for a moment, and then held out his hand, conjuring a small, bronze box studded with emeralds and sealed with a wax seal.

“Take this,” he said.

“What’s in it?” she asked, taking it from his hand. “Can I open it? What’s—?”

“Don’t open it yet,” Vincent instructed. “Read what it says on the lid.”

“…‘Open only when all hope is lost,’” Daphne read. “So what is it?”

“You’ll find out if you ever need to open it,” Vincent replied.

“I feel like I need to now,” she admitted. “I’m still so scared.”

“Ah, but you certainly haven’t lost all hope yet,” Vincent reminded her. “We’re all still here for you. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but won’t you take a chance on us first?”

Clutching the bronze box tightly in her hand, she gave a deep sigh and managed a nod.

Chapter Text

They rejoined the others, who were all visibly concerned.

“How’re ya feeling?” Shaggy asked.

“Okay, all things considered,” Daphne sighed.

Vincent placed a hand on her shoulder again.

“Regardless of what happens, Daphne, I won’t abandon you—and I’m certain the others concur,” he said.

“Rhabsolutely!” Scooby promised.

“You know it!” Scrappy barked.

“That goes for me, too!” Flim-Flam added.

“And me,” Shaggy finished.

“And we’ll help in any way we can,” Miss Grimwood added, as Leonidas II and the girls all nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, Everyone,” Daphne said managing a smile. She quickly sobered and glanced at Shaggy. “What about you? Are you feeling alright?”

“I… I guess so…” Shaggy said, scratching his head. “I mean, I don’t feel any different than normal. And I didn’t have any spiderwebs in my hair.”

“As long as you’re feeling alright, we’ll prioritize Daphne and Winnie’s well-being,” Vincent said. “But once they’re out of danger, we’ll be delving into your family history and your latent memories to see just what’s happened to you.”

“Oh boy…” Shaggy sighed.

“In the meantime, I think all the youngsters should retire for the night,” Vincent insisted.

“Aww, come on, Vince—”

“Flim-Flam…”

“…Aw, alright,” the boy sighed. Before going, however, he took a bottle of his Lotsa Luck Joy Juice from his sweatshirt pocket and handed it to Daphne. “Just in case you think you’ll need it.”

“Thanks,” Daphne replied, her voice cracking slightly.

“You’ll be okay, Daphne,” Scrappy encouraged. “You’ll see!”

Reluctantly, they headed off to bed; Miss Grimwood had Matches usher the girls off next, and he stayed outside their rooms, pacing while on guard.

Vincent now turned to the adult mortals.

“You ought to get some sleep, as well,” he suggested, but it was half-hearted; indeed, none of them looked remotely like wanting to sleep.

“I’ll pass,” Googie sighed. “I feel terrible; I didn’t mean to say—”

“You couldn’t have known,” Shaggy pointed out. “And, anyway… it’s probably better for us to be aware of… this, rather than it taking us by surprise.”

“Ryeah,” Scooby sighed.

“Maybe so, but there’s certainly no way I can sleep now—not when…” Daphne trailed off.

“Daphne,” Vincent said again. “Just keep reminded yourself that you are not alone. And as long as you are not alone, you will be fine, no matter what happens. My word is my bond—you know this.”

She nodded.

“I just… don’t want to end up letting you down.”

“That, I am sure, is impossible,” Vincent returned. “I have trusted you with my life before, multiple times—and I am prepared to do so again now, without any hesitation—”

He was interrupted as Googie’s phone rang briefly, before stopping.

“Sorry…” she said, embarrassed. “Oh, Julius tried to call me. Wonder what’s up…”

She left the room to call him back.

“Well, you fully understand where I stand on this whole thing, correct?” Vincent continued.

“You’ve made that very clear,” Daphne assured him.

“Leonidas and I needn’t testify to Vincent’s sincerity, but we’re still willing to,” Miss Grimwood said.

“That’s right—I remember my father always trying to get me to strike up a friendship with Vincent back in our schooldays—even though I was already a member of Baz’s gang,” Leonidas II mused. “In spite of all the headaches Vincent gave my father, my father knew that Vincent was a good friend to have.”

“Did he?” Vincent asked, surprised. “Given the number of times I was called into his office, I was under the impression that he considered me trouble on two legs.”

“Oh, he did—and I think he still does, to a degree,” Leonidas II replied, bluntly, prompting Shaggy, Scooby, and even Daphne to snark. “But he always knew you had—and still have—a good heart. He’d have been here himself to help you and Helena out, but you know he’s been swamped with work since Reed retired…”

“Yes, I can imagine…” Vincent sighed.

“…I kinda wish he was here,” Leonidas II continued. “Father is much more experienced at all this than I am.”

“You’re doing quite well in his stead,” Miss Grimwood assured him, with a smile.

“It’s nice of you to say that, Helena, but Father might have a better idea about that… flying spider we saw,” he mused.

“I would certainly want to ask him about his thoughts on that, as well,” Vincent said. “I’ve never seen anything like that bat-winged spider before, either; Sibella’s reaction made it clear that Dracula had nothing to do with it—and, indeed, Dracula’s distress at his wolfman friend going missing was genuine.”

“And we know it’s not Julius—and probably not any other monster hunter, because they wouldn’t be using bat-winged spiders,” Daphne said.

“Then there are only three possible options,” Miss Grimwood realized. “Either one of the fae, the elves, or…” She looked to Vincent and Leonidas II, concerned. “…A mage like us.”

“Like, if Chandra hadn’t been sentenced by the Witches’ Council, I’d have bet money it was her,” Shaggy said. “She’s got a score to settle with those monsters.”

“Rhait a minute!” Scooby exclaimed, and he turned to Leonidas II. “Rhi remember something rhour dad said rhabout Chandra! Rhe said she was expelled from Terror Tech!”

“When was this?” Vincent asked.

“Rhen rhe helped Freddie and me rescue you from Chandra and Rhimp!”

Vincent looked to Leonidas II.

“Did you know—?”

“Not until this moment,” Leonidas II replied. “Father doesn’t discuss any of the administrative work with me; honestly, he doesn’t want me getting into administrative work at all—says it’s not worth the headache.”

“Well, that may be,” Vincent mused. “But you’ve got to ask him if Chandra had any close friends or associates who might…”

He trailed off as Googie returned, looking concerned.

“Um…” she said. “Something strange is going on. It’s like Julius tried to call me, but something’s stopped him—it was like he was cut off. I tried calling him back a dozen times, and he just won’t pick up…”

Vincent paled and immediately grabbed his crystal.

“Voudini!” he exclaimed. “Voudini!?”

There was only static; for whatever reason, Vincent’s crystal was unable to get through to Voudini’s Palantir.

“Zoinks!” Shaggy exclaimed, looking nervous. “Something’s happened back there—that’s for sure!”

A look of panic was on Vincent’s face, knowing that he should rush to his friend’s side; but this had all the hallmarks of a trap—and if he brought Daphne there, whoever was behind this would be able to get a shot at capturing her…

“Vincent, you should go,” she said, after fretting about it for a moment. “Mr. Voudini might need your help! I’ll be safe here—you’ve put protection spells up…”

“I swore I wouldn’t leave you at such a critical juncture,” Vincent reminded her. “To my words, I am bound.”

“But—”

“Leonidas—” Vincent began.

“Say no more,” Leonidas II nodded. “Talbot and I will go—you and Helena look after the youngsters.”

Talbot barked in agreement, and he and Leonidas II teleported out as Daphne fretted once again.

“If something happens to Mr. Voudini again, I’ll never forgive myself,” she said, her voice cracking.

“Voudini told me to prioritize all of you in New Orleans, and he would, without hesitation, say so again now,” Vincent said.

“And he’s got all his powers back,” Shaggy reminded himself. “He can take care of himself… huh!?” He turned around, staring out the window. “Listen! It’s that weirdo sound again!”

“Rhi hear it, too!” Scooby agreed.

Googie looked confused again.

“I… don’t,” she said.

Miss Grimwood looked just as baffled, also unable to hear.

“I’m afraid I don’t hear it, either,” Vincent said, also confused. “Daphne, can you hear it? …Daphne? Daphne!”

Vincent had turned to look at her, reacting as he saw her doubled over, clutching at her head as though she was in agony.

“Oh, dear Hestia!” Miss Grimwood gasped.

“Daphne!” Vincent called again.

He reached for her shoulder, but she suddenly pulled away, removed her hands from her head, and suddenly looked upward—and let out a howl.

And, somewhere outside, a howl answered her.

“Winnie!” Miss Grimwood exclaimed.

The other girls had burst out of their rooms at the sound of Winnie’s howl, but before anyone could say anything, Daphne burst through the front door of the cabin, running off into the night.

Chapter Text

“Daphne!” Vincent cried. He had to make a decision, and make it quickly… “Shaggy, you and Scooby help Helena and look after the others—help her in any way you can! I’m counting on the both of you!”

“R-Right,” Shaggy promised, with a nervous nod. “You go help Daphne; Scoob and I have got this!”

With that, Vincent had torn down the path where Daphne had headed; he could still see her up ahead, just within his range of vision.

“…I hope,” Shaggy finished.

“Poor Daphne…” Scrappy said, softly, as Scooby whined.

“Hey,” Flim-Flam said, trying to sound confident. “You know old Vince won’t let anything happen to her.”

“But what about Winnie!?” Tanis cried. “Mr. Van Ghoul promised to help us!”

“Please try to understand, Tanis,” Miss Grimwood sighed. “He must feel terrible about running out on us and Winnie, but he can’t ignore Daphne’s needs—no more than your father could ignore yours.”

Shaggy pondered something for a moment, and then sighed gulped as he tried to steel his resolve.

“Scoob…?” he asked.

Scooby looked at him and nodded, knowing what Shaggy was thinking.

“Rhi’m with you, Rhaggy,” he promised.

“Right…” Shaggy sighed, and he turned to Miss Grimwood. “Miss G? Daphne may be Vincent’s heiress, but the fact of the matter is that I’m his student, too—I’m not as dedicated to this as Daphne is, make no mistake, but I’ve still been learning from him in order to provide Daphne some support.”

“What are you saying?” Sibella asked, her eyes wide.

“You mean… you’ll help us!?” Phanty exclaimed.

“Right now? Go out there in the dark?” Elsa added.

“Don’t remind me,” Shaggy pleaded. “But… yes. We know Winnie is close, and since Vincent can’t help… I’d like to help in his place.”

“That’s very admirable Shaggy, thank you,” Miss Grimwood said. “Lead on; I’ll use my magic to support you.”

“Yeah yeah yeah yeah, I’ll help!” Matches added.

“Winnie’s howl sounded like it came from deeper in the Barren Bog,” Sibella noted. “Let’s hurry before she gets too far away!”

“Right,” Shaggy said. “Follow me!”

With Scooby trying to track Winnie’s scent as best they could, they headed out into the marsh.

“That was incredibly brave,” Googie said, after a while.

“N-Not really—I’m terrified,” Shaggy admitted. “But I promised Vincent I’d help, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“But that’s…” Googie trailed off as her phone rang, and she gasped as she answered it. “Julius!? What’s happened!?”

“The monsters—Dracula and the rest of them,” Julius groaned. He sounded like he’d been on the losing end of a brawl, and, in the background of his call, Renfield was clearly screaming in a panic. “We were attacked—a gigantic swarm of winged spiders…”

“The same kind that we saw!” Leonidas II called from the background.

Googie paled, and then looked nervously to the other girls, who couldn’t hear what Julius was saying, but could somehow sense that their fathers were in trouble.

“I can’t explain what happened,” Julius said. “The spider-bats descended on all of us—but they took the four monsters away!”

“It seems that the Wolfman’s disappearance was the first step to a sinister plan,” Voudini said. “Leonidas is just now getting a lead from his father, the Associate Dean—”

“I’ve got it!” Leonidas II exclaimed. “Thanks, Father. Julius, I need to talk to Vincent right away—this concerns him and Daphne!”

Shaggy snatched the phone from Googie, ignoring her protests.

“Vincent and Daphne aren’t here; Daphne heard that weirdo sound and ran off, howling—and Vincent ran after her!”

“…Oh no…” Leonidas II groaned. “They’re both in very great danger—them, and all of the monsters!”

“Tell them, at least,” Voudini instructed. “We can try to reach Vincent after this!”

“Very well; Vincent was right about Chandra having an associate at Terror Tech—Father just told me about her,” Leonidas II said. “Her name was Revolta, and she was obsessed with spiders—the rumors were that she was a descendant of Arachne. She dropped out shortly after Chandra was expelled—Father says that her fondness of the Forbidden Arts would’ve had her expelled soon after, anyway.”

“What part of the Forbidden Arts did Revolta practice?” Shaggy asked.

“Mind control,” Leonidas II answered. “It’s clear now—she’s figured out how to get those flying spiders of hers to use their silk to help her mesmerize her victims. First Winnie and her father, and now all the other monster fathers—”

“—And Daphne!” Shaggy exclaimed. “So she’s not really becoming a werewolf again—Revolta is just making her think she is!”

“The mind is a powerful thing, but it’s very susceptible to magic,” Leonidas II sighed.

“I know—your dad said the same thing when Chandra was driving us crazy with those illusions,” Shaggy gulped. “But she’ll be okay, right? Vincent is with her!”

There was a long silence.

“…I fear that Daphne is but a means to an end,” Leonidas II admitted.

“Zoinks!” Shaggy yelped. “Revolta wants Vincent!?”

“It would seem so; she’s got all the other monster fathers—that was probably her plan all along, but Vincent was an unexpected bonus,” Voudini said. “She’ll threaten their daughters to get them to submit fully to her mind control—”

“—A-And she’ll threaten Daphne to get Vincent, too!” Shaggy finished.

“And Vincent is the most powerful warlock in the world,” Leonidas II reminded him. “If he is in her power… she’ll be unstoppable.”

“We… We’ve gotta warn him!” Shaggy managed to say.

“It won’t be easy—my Palantir has its signals blocked,” Voudini fretted. “I assume the same is true of your crystals.”

“…Which means my phone won’t reach Vincent’s crystal, either,” Shaggy groaned. “Well, we’ve gotta keep trying! I, ah… I’m going to go with my original plan and help Miss Grimwood and the other girls find Winnie, but I’ll still keep trying to get hold of Vincent, I promise!”

“There’s a good chance that Winnie is heading back to wherever Revolta is—especially now that she’s got the other monsters,” Voudini warned.

“I know, but that also means that Daphne—and Vincent—will be heading that way, too,” Shaggy realized. “We’ve gotta hope that we intercept them first. We’re sure Winnie ran into the Barren Bog—that must be were Daphne went, too. We’re there now, trying to track Winnie.”

“Then Leonidas, Julius, and I will also make our way to the bog and try to find you, as well,” Voudini said. “I pray that one of us succeeds in warning Vincent before the spiders put him under Revolta’s spell.”

“Me too,” Shaggy gulped. “See you soon—I hope.”

He hung up and silently handed the phone back to Googie, aware of everyone looking at him.

“It’s bad news, isn’t it?” Flim-Flam asked, quietly.

“The understatement of the century,” Shaggy nodded. He looked at the girls and sighed. “I gotta tell you the truth—the one behind this has taken all of your dads prisoner. But we’re going to meet up with the other warlocks and… hopefully they’ll be able to help us with their magic and stop her.”

“And Vincent…?” Miss Grimwood asked, concerned.

“He’s going to be next—unless we can find some way to warn him about Revolta.”

“We can’t let this meanie get Vincent!” Scrappy growled. “And we gotta splat her for what she did to Daphne!”

“And my dada!” Elsa frowned.

“And mine!” Tanis cried.

“Mine, too!” Phanty declared.

“And mine!” Sibella hissed, baring her fangs. “And Winnie, too!”

“Girls, you will listen to Shaggy,” Miss Grimwood instructed. “Vincent instructed him to assist us, and he will coordinate this rescue!”

“Rhou know what rhou’re getting into, Rhaggy?” Scooby asked.

“No, and I’m afraid to find out,” Shaggy admitted. “But… we’ve got no other choice, Scoob. It’s what Vincent would want us to do—and I know that you don’t wanna let him down any more than I do.”

Scooby, Scrappy, and Flim-Flam nodded.

“Okay, then Scoob, you keep on leading the way like we planned—I need you to keep tracking Winnie’s scent the best you can.”

“Right!”

“Flim, I need you and Scrappy to keep trying to get ahold of Vincent on our crystal—it’s probably not going to work well, but even if we can get through for just a moment, that’ll be enough to warn him about Revolta.”

“You got it!” Flim-Flam promised.

“And I’ll keep trying to get through to Daphne’s phone—if she can snap out of it for just a moment, she’ll be able to find out that she’s not really a werewolf, and that she needs to keep Revolta from getting Vincent.” Shaggy sighed. “…If anything can snap her out of it, it’ll be knowing that Vincent needs her help.”

“That’s true,” Scrappy realized. “And knowing that she needs help will hopefully keep Vincent in his right mind, too!”

“That’s what I’m counting on, too,” Shaggy admitted.

Vincent had said it himself just a little while before—they weren’t alone. They had each other—and that would get them through anything.

And Shaggy hoped more than ever that the warlock’s words were true.